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Monthly Archives: February 2018

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It feels like Fred has been with me for ages (in a good way!) but it’s only been 12 days. He’s just fit in that easily. There aren’t a lot of updates; he is getting his neuter and dental the first week of March so until then, I’m just enjoying having him around.

The only flaw he has is that he’s a barker – which is super common with pugs. He consistently stands at the patio doors and barks and barks and barks. It’s slightly aggravating in any situation but considering I live in an apartment complex with neighbors next to and above me, it’s something I’m hyper aware of. It’s difficult to train him because he cannot hear me, so verbal corrections aren’t an option. I did buy a spray bottle to spritz some water in his face when he barked but that was kind of a miss. Whenever he barked, he’d look over at me waiting for to spray him in the face – and continue to bark. So, he kind of got it – bark and there would be a reaction on my part. But it wasn’t enough of a negative reaction to deter him.

I tried rewarding him with treats when he stopped barking but all he’d do is bark, stop for a treat, and go back to barking. And he’s not stupid – he knew when I had treats on me and when I didn’t. It probably would have worked if I’d given him more time, but I’m also gone during the day, missing key times to train him because that’s when he does most of his barking.

So, I opted to get frosted decals to stick onto the patio doors. It genuinely just about killed me because Fred simply loves staring out the patio doors. And 90 percent of the time, all he does is stare. But 10 percent of the time he barks nonstop and it’s just not fair to my neighbors. There are plenty of days I come for lunch and I find him sitting at the patio doors, just staring at the world outside, not making a peep, happy as a clam. But there are also days I come home and can hear him barking from the hallway.

It seems so trivial, but it really did cause me a ridiculous amount of anguish to put the decals on. He is so happy watching his doggie TV during the day. But I think it was aggravating Lucy and I was paranoid neighbors were going to start complaining.

The verdict? So far so good. They have done what I had hoped they would do – limit his barking. It breaks a piece of my heart every time he goes over to the door and scratches on the decals, annoyed at the unknown object coming between him and his TV. I did cave and create a sliver of an opening down one side of one of the doors – it gives him a glimpse at the outside but with limited peripheral vision.

I’ve just never seen a dog so fascinated by the outdoors which is what made this so hard.

Fellow dog owners, anyone deal with a similar scenario? Any advice or tips?

Like this:

Sounds like the title to a children’s book! But that pretty much sums up Tuesday night.

We already knew Fred needs to be neutered and have a dental done but he also needed a thorough check-up before any surgery – we wanted to make sure his pneumonia was cleared up, his bloodwork was good, etc. So, I got him in to see my very favorite vet on Tuesday night.

He’s definitely a stud.

What did we learn? Fred has Lyme. Not what I wanted to hear, but antibiotics and he’ll be good. He has ear infections – the antibiotics plus ear drops will solve that. Still a bit raspy in the chest so we did x-rays; chest x-rays were clear. Either he’s an extra snorty pug OR he has some scar tissue built up from his pneumonia. Either way, he’s clear for surgery since his bloodwork came back as “perfect.”

He was an absolute trooper. Because the appointment was directly after work, he got to hang out at the office with me for the afternoon. He was a BIG hit. Everyone just loved him and he was great. A little barky when I left my desk for more than 1-2 minutes but other than, just perfect. He got so much love and attention. Combined with the vet appointment, he was one tired dog, though!

TAIT’s newest employee

We’re still figuring out when and where he’ll get his surgeries done but I’m in no rush; once he gets through surgery he should be cleared for adoption and considering I’ve fallen in love with him already, I am far from anxious for him to hit the available page.

Although I am anxious for him to be done with these antibiotics – they are seriously screwing with his stomach and let’s just say it hasn’t been pretty over here. I’m going to call the vet tomorrow and see if there’s a different antibiotic we can try because his stomach is just not happy!

Things are still going well so far, though – he fits right in and Lucy hasn’t made a run for it yet.

So quick news first – Mugs has a new name! SNORT had a few too many pugs named Mugsy (or some variation of that name) so Mugs had to have a name change. I’ve gone with Fred – now I have a Lucy and a Fred from I Love Lucy! He’s deaf – he has no idea what anyone calls him anyway, so the name change isn’t a super big deal.

Fred? Mugs? Makes zero difference to him.

Now, for some updates! We’re just about 48 hours into life with Fred. So far so good (knock on wood).

Absolutely 100 percent deaf, no questions. Can’t hear a thing.

He’s starting to break out the typical pug hops – hops when I come home, hops when it’s mealtime, hops when it’s treat time. Adorable. He is truly ecstatic when I come home – greatest feeling ever.

Fully housetrained (minus one accident tonight – I waited too long, totally my fault); no need for a belly band, although I kept one on him today while I was at work since he wasn’t alone for long stretches yesterday – today he went 4-5 hours while I’m at work (I come home for lunch), so I wanted to be sure there were no accidents while I was at work (spoiler alert – there weren’t!).

He is a little escape artist! Give him a millimeter of space between a door opening and his shoulders and he’s gone! Of course, he’s on a leash but I do have to take both dogs out at once; if I try to leave him inside while I take Lucy out, he’ll find a way to wiggle out the patio door. Leaving through the front door is interesting, to say the least!

Like most pugs, he’s a barker. Unfortunately, verbal corrections don’t do anything. I picked up a spray bottle after work today; hopefully a quick spritz in the face when he (unnecessarily) barks will work. I hesitate to do treat-based training – he doesn’t need to put weight on!

Nighttime is going well; he sleeps in my bedroom and takes a bit to settle down into his pillows (well, my pillows that he’s commandeered) and at some point last night he moved from his pillows to his own bed (also in my bedroom), but so far so good.

And Lucy? Who knows. I don’t think she’s ecstatic but so far, their personalities match well. Lucy isn’t a huge cuddler with me and certainly doesn’t care where I am in the apartment. Fred must know where I am at all times and follows me everywhere. Also, toys have not been a huge issue yet – he has a few soft chew toys he likes but shockingly Lucy hasn’t been overly interested in them and he isn’t really obsessed with them, either – no territorial behavior from him, that’s for sure. They largely ignore each other – fine by me! And Lucy even got down on the floor with me last night to play fetch – normally she’s too scared (no, really) of the other dogs to play on the ground. So, a big step for her this early in the game!

Finally, I took both dogs to the vet tonight. Lucy needed an allergy shot and I brought Fred along for several reasons – I’m not sure how he does home alone without me or another dog; I didn’t want him barking for an hour. Plus, I wanted to see how he did in an environment outside the home. He did spectacularly! No barking, no marking. He just sniffed the other dogs when he felt like it and was largely content to just roam and look around! I think this guy is going to do great in almost any scenario!

Mugs is a 13-year-old pug. He is – sort of – an owner surrender. After 13 years, his owners decided they weren’t sure they wanted to keep him around and put him in a crate in their garage where he promptly got pneumonia. Not sure on the details, but somehow he was taken out of the home and brought to an animal sanctuary; a SNORT volunteer was contacted by that sanctuary to find him a foster home and just like that, I’m back to a two-dog household!

I adore him. Which isn’t saying much because I pretty much adore all my foster dogs (and all dogs in general).

So here’s what I’ve learned in 18 hours with Mugs:

Definitely 13 in regards to looks, not energy.

He is not neutered (ugh – 13 years and never neutered?!) and is in desperate need of a dental. Typical. I’ll get him to the vet soon.

Despite the above fact, he hasn’t yet marked inside. Hallelujah! I had a belly band on him yesterday night and this morning but right now he’s roaming naked and has yet to mark.

He’s deaf. Can’t hear a single thing. I took a very quick look in his ears and they don’t seem to be terribly gunky so I think he’s genuinely hard of hearing. Doesn’t stop him from barking, though…

Typical pug who loves food (although it took him a bit to warm up to his new food) and adores the treats I have. He has quickly learned to head to the refrigerator (where I keep their treats) after coming inside from doing his business.

One thing he hates? The crate. HATES it. Barks and barks and barks. Last night I put his crate in my bedroom but that was a no-go after 45 minutes of barking. I’m a firm believer in letting a dog bark it out but I live in an apartment; it’s just rude to let him bark that much at 10:30 at night. Or any time of the day/night. I put him in the crate this morning when I went for a 40-minute run; considering he was barking when I left and barking when I got home, it’s safe to assume he spent the entire 40 minutes barking. When I got back, I had to run some quick errands so I left him out and came back to a clean apartment and no barking. So the crate will go away…for now.

He’s starting to show me some of the typical pug hops; hops around dancing when I come home, when it’s time for food, etc.

He has a lot of energy for 13 but he definitely tires quickly. As I type this, he’s sitting on the floor at the feet falling asleep after spending the last 20 minutes staring outside the patio door.

And Lucy? After some getting-to-know-you sniffing, they’ve largely ignored each other. Like most pugs, Mugs prefers to know where I am at all times. She’s camped out on the couch now which is where she’d be anyway. I think his barking is driving her a bit bonkers but other than that, things are going well so far. Granted, it’s been 18 hours. But so far so good!